Outstanding.

Finding a lawyer wasn't easy. Having the right lawyer defending you is the most important resource one needs during a difficult time. Trust and dedication is key. That is what I got with Bridget Heptner. From my first phone call to her office, to the final judgment of my case, her dedication and determination was outstanding. Every step of my divorce process was handled with care. I am very thankful I had Bridget Heptner on my side.

Hire the best!

I used Bridgett for my divorce in 2006 and then in 2011 to change my agreement. I highly recommend her to anyone, she is very professional and knowledgeable in her field. Her assistant Nikki does a wonderful job also!! "

Fair

I have used Bridget Heptner twice over the last 10 years and was very happy with both of my cases. She was fair, kept me informed and told me exactly what to expect. I trust Bridget and would highly reccomend her to someone having to go through a divorce. My first divorce was contested but finally agreed upon after going through mediation. My most recent divorce, in May 2013, was uncontested, and done proficiently and timely.

Former Limited Appearance Client

I hired this attorney for a specific purpose in my post dissolution divorce case. At the time I retained her, my ex-spouse was pro-se. Ms. Heptner was very supportive of me and my case until my ex-spouse retained an Attorney. At that time she immediately turned against me. She then went beyond her scope of limited appearance and spoke to the opposing counsel regarding issues I was strictly dealing with pro se. Although I told her not to speak to the Attorney unless it involved her limited appearance, she continued to do so and charge me for it. She ran up my bill in these matters but I had to represent myself in court. To make matters worse, once we finally had a hearing date and it was clear we were going to win fees to continue, she called me three hours before the hearing and informed me she made a deal on my behalf and basicly shut down my case. I was forced to once again represent myself in court. When I returned from Court I received the order she and the opposing counsel agreed upon. I then sent Ms. Heptner a letter stating I did not agree with her making the deal behind my back and I wanted her to withdraw the order. She called me a few days later and was very disrespectful. She then filed a notice of non-representation and a notice of withdrawal of the original motion in which I hired her. I asked her to refund my retainer but she refused . In my opinion, what starts out as a very pleasant experience with Bridget Heptner, ends in a nightmare. I must add, I have all respect for her Legal Assistant, Nikki.

Hurricane Bridget

I met with two other attorneys for my divorce case (with emphasis on property division) and it was clear to me that Bridget was the attorney I needed for my case. She is like a force of nature in her directness, persuasiveness and depth of knowledge, not to mention her ninja-like understanding of tact and subtlety within the framework of aggressive pursuit of client goals.

(She was also the "most expensive" attorney I met with in terms of rate per hour - yet I am pretty sure she was dollar-for-dollar cheaper in the end because she was extremely modest with time billed. I would rather pay $325 an hour to someone who charges me the real time it took to draft a document than someone who's at $250 an hour and charges me twice the time "by default" for the same thing. Get the difference? The "cheaper" attorney in that case is actually 50% more expensive.)

Anyhow, I knew I wanted her to represent me as soon as I watched her playing courtroom scenarios out in her head like Gary Kasparov planning his next chess move: it became immediately clear to me that she knew what could come up, what would come up, what wouldn't and pretty much exactly where to take things. It was actually pretty thrilling to watch.

My case "ran itself": paperwork was consistently filed the same day it was allowed, letters drafted, submissions made, initiative taken, etc. with consistent efficiency and immediacy.

And in the end it didn't hurt that my case worked out better than my best case scenario.

Bridget and Nikki make up a hardworking, aggressive, efficient and effective team. Great to have on your side and a tremendous value.

Attention to Detail, less than desirable.

If you're looking to retain a divorce attorney that doesn't have an attention to detail retain Bridget Heptner. All joking aside, my divorce was uncontested and went smoothly, but her repeated typographical errors on the court documents created a headache for myself and my ex-wife. Quit Claim Deeds were drafted incorrectly and had typographical errors which subsequently caused myself and my ex-wife to have them corrected, notarized and recorded a second time, at our expense. The response I received from her office "Well you should have proof read before you signed, technically we're now working for free." My answer is I would expect an attorney to have the information and the docs drafted properly the first time. The divorce was finalized we paid for her half-rate services, and I was left to feel as if I was inconveniencing them for asking to have it corrected. I literally paid for her to draft the uncontested divorce doc, and two Quit Claim Deeds. In hindsight I could have saved money to draft the docs on legalzoom.com myself. There are many attorneys in the area, I would suggest you retain one that will do things correctly the first time.

Bridget Ann Heptner’s response:“This was not a client of our law office; we represented his wife and he was disgruntled. His wife was provided the quit claim deeds, not him. He executed the deeds without proof reading it. We provided corrective deeds free of charge nonetheless”

5.0 stars

Posted by Bill March 8, 2012 1:33pm

You have found a great attorney

I normally don't do this but I felt like I needed to let everyone know who reads this review how lucky I was to find Bridget and retain her as my divorce attorney. Over ten years ago I was going through a devastating divorce and custody battle with my now x-wife. I met with Bridget and it did not take me long to decide to retain her as my counsel. Not only was she informative, but was pretty much right on when it came to what was going to happen. She represented me with compassion and the right amount of aggressiveness. Not only were we successful, but my fees were about half of my x-wife's fees. She is fair and you could not find a better attorney for family law. You might wonder why I waited over ten years to write his review and the answer is simple. Just a few days ago my daughter and I celebrated her 21st Birthday. When I won custoday of her she was 8 years old. I know that me being awarded custoday of my daugther was critical in her becoming a successful member of society. Briget knew that also and it was more than just court victory to her, there was a little girl's life in the balance of this verdict. Thank you so much Bridget, you are the best.. If you would like to talk to me about Bridget as your attorney, please email me at bill@wrousa.com and I will gladly call you.

Highly Recommend Bridget Heptner... One of the best in Pinellas!

I interviewed several attorneys and knew immediately that Ms. Heptner was the attorney for me. She is knowledgeable, to the point and was exactly what I needed to represent me. I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone needing an excellent attorney. My case may go on for quite some time and due to unfortunate circumstances, I was not able to continue with her to complete my divorce, however if it were possible, I would hire her again. Her assistant, Nikki is also very professional and knows what she's doing. For a small office, it runs smoothly, and both Ms. Heptner and her assistant are always on top of things.

Extremely knowledgable and easy to work with.

I was completely overwhelmed by the divorce and talked to about a dozen different family law attorneys in Pinellas County before I scheduled my interview with Bridget. I had already made my mind up to hire a different attorney but, out of respect to a colleague who strongly recommended meeting with her, I kept my appointment with Bridget. She immediately impressed me with her depth of knowledge on family law in Florida and how it is interpreted in the various judge's courtrooms in Pinellas. She and her assistant Nikki helped me every step of the way. When I needed help and direction assembling documents, they helped me. When I needed a quick question answered, they helped me (often without charging me!). When I needed someone to listen to my side of the story and offer solutions to very complex issues, they helped me.
Throughout the process Bridget gave me all of the information about each part we were dealing with, offered her opinion of the situation and empowered me to make my own decision. I entered the divorce not feeling so good about myself and my life but as we progressed I began to regain confidence in myself and ultimately, by the time the divorce was final, I was a new man.
I really can't recommend Bridget enough.